Swiss racing driver Harold Primat will this year compete in the Blancpain Endurance Series with Audi; driving for Phoenix Racing. Harold will be driving an Audi R8 LMS ultra car in this prestigious and fiercely competitive sportscar series.

Harold’s teammates for 2013 will be Blancpain Endurance Series title defender Christopher Haase and experienced British sportscar driver, and winner of the 2013 12hrs of Sebring, Oliver Jarvis.

The three-hour race at the Royal Park at Monza, Italy, on 14th April will be the season opener of the Blancpain Series, followed by two other three-hour races at Silverstone, UK, on 2nd June and at Paul Ricard on 30th June. Towards the end of the season the calendar will feature two racing highlights; the Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours on 27th and 28th July and the classic 1000-kilometre race at the Nürburgring on 22nd September.

Harold has already had success this year racing with Phoenix Racing; securing a fourth place finish in the 12 Hours of Bathurst, despite the team losing four laps mid-race due to a technical issue during one of their routine driver changes.

2013 will see Harold add to his already extensive racing experience, including seven years racing in LMP1 which has seen Harold notch up four race victories and a further eighteen podium finishes.

“We are very excited about the first race of the Blancpain Endurance Series. It is the leading racing series for GT3-cars in Europe at the moment with 60 cars fighting for wins and positions. It is great that we can take this challenge with very strong driver-line-ups in both cars. A mixture of young and experienced drivers will give us all possibilities for good results over the year. Harold brings in a lot of experience and after our season-preparation and the 12h race at Bathurst together we are happy that he now fully arrived in GT-racing;“ commented Ernst Moser, Team-Principal Phoenix Racing.

“I am very happy to be part of the Audi family and racing with Phoenix Racing for the 2013 Blancpain Endurance Series. We had a great experience racing together at the start of the year at Bathurst where we were challenging for victory for most of the race and I am looking forward to competing in what is a very competitive and prestigious racing series this year. 2013 will see me make a move from LMP1 to GT which is an exciting prospect. GT racing is very different to LMP1 but I have already learnt a lot in my first two GT races and am looking forward to continuing to grow and develop as a GT driver;” commented Harold Primat.

“Last but not least, I would like to express my full appreciation to my partners for their continuing support this year; Harwood International, Crans Montana and Primland;” continued Harold Primat.